Partypoker & Borgata NJ Review

Leveraging its reputation as the best live poker room in New Jersey, BorgataPoker and partypokerNJ share a player pool. One of the top-three sites in the state, its strength is in its MTT offerings, but the cash tables are known to be loose as well.

Launched in 2013 following the signing of a partnership deal between partypokerand Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Party/Borgata is one of the top three poker networks licensed in New Jersey.

Nowadays, it is shared by three distinct sites:

partypoker NJ

BorgataPoker

playMGM

All of these sites give you access to the same cash game tables and tournaments. They don’t have a whole lot in common in terms of welcome bonuses, recurring promotions, or rakeback though.

How to sign-up for Party/Borgata

If you’re interested in opening an account on the Party/Borgata network, you should first pick the skin that suits your needs best. Once you’ve chosen, simply head over to the relevant website, click the Register/Sign-up button, fill out the registration form, and download the poker client.

Regardless of the site you pick, you will be required to install a geo-location plugin. This is included with the Party/Borgata software. The purpose of this plugin is to ensure compliance with state regulations, which require that players must be physically present inside New Jersey state lines in order to legally play on an NJ-licensed site for real money.

Party/Borgata sign-up bonuses

Each Party/Borgata skin offers a small no-deposit bonus and a 100 percent matched deposit bonus. These bonuses differ from one another in terms of value.

partypoker

$25 no-deposit bonus

This bonus gets credited to your account as soon as the site verifies your personal information. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what you’ll receive:

$10 for cash games and fast-fold games

$10 for casino games and jackpot slots

$5 for big money tournaments

100% matched deposit bonus, up to $1,000

This bonus releases in ten equal chunks. The size of your bonus determines the size of each chunk.

For example, if you deposit $80, your bonus releases in $8 chunks. If you deposit $1,000, you’ll need to work with $100 chunks. In order to clear a single chunk, you’ll have to accumulate four VIP points per dollar of your bonus. Since you earn points at a rate of two per $1 paid in rake or tournament fees, what you are getting essentially amounts to a five percent rakeback deal.

playMGM – best welcome promotions

$25 on the house

This bonus will be credited to your account as soon as you sign-up for playMGMpoker.com. It consists of the following items:

$10 for cash games

$15 for tournament play

100% matched deposit bonus, up to $1,000

Just like on Party, the matched-deposit bonus on playMGM releases in ten equal chunks. The bonus clears at a rate of $1 for every 20 iRewards points earned. Since these points accrue at the rate of 5.5 iRP per $1 paid in fees, the entire bonus is equivalent to a 27.5 percent rakeback deal.

BorgataPoker

$20 no-deposit bonus

Borgata offers the smallest bonus on the network, which consists of two $10 chunks. You receive the first chunk as soon as your account is verified. The second chunk transfers to your account as soon as you pay $20 in rake or tournament fees. All in all, this offer gives more flexibility to experienced players, but poker newbies won’t benefit from it as much as from the Party/Borgata sign-up promotions.

100% matched deposit bonus, up to $600

Borgata’s matched deposit bonus is consistent with other Party/Borgata equivalents, as this bonus also releases in ten equal chunks. Clearing requirements are the same as for Party Poker so you’ll end up with the same five percent rakeback deal, except it won’t last you as long if your planning to deposit more than $600. (This is because Party’s bonus is capped at $1,000.)

Party/Borgata traffic overview

On paper, Party/Borgata seems to be the smallest of the big three New Jersey poker networks. However, in this case, looking at the numbers alone is slightly misleading, as specific events tend to outperform their WSOP/888 and PokerStars counterparts on a fairly regular basis.

That being said, there’s no denying the fact that Party/Borgata does suffer from the usual New Jersey online poker problems. The player pool isn’t large enough to sustain any uncommon game formats, and single-table tournaments are typically few and far between.

Cash traffic

Cash game traffic is Party/Borgata’s Achilles’ heel. Their numbers are consistently lower than those seen on the other major networks, particularly during peak-traffic hours. The seven-day average hovers around 80 on most weeks, but there are times when the number of active players drops to below 30.

Traffic tends to peak between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The number of players engaged in cash game action around that time tends to fall inside the 170-190 range. All in all, Party/Borgata accounts for slightly less than 30 percent of New Jersey’s online cash game activity.

Tournament traffic

Party/Borgata may be the smallest of the big three New Jersey poker networks in terms of cash game traffic, but their tournaments are usually very popular. Events consistently attracting more players than WSOP/888 ‘s flagship events. In fact, Party/Borgata even tends to outperform PokerStars in this key area from time to time.

For example, on Dec. 17, 2017, a $215 Sunday $40,000 Guaranteed event hosted on PartyBorgata scored 242 entries, while its counterparts hosted on WSOP/888 and PokerStars attracted less than 150 players each. This is quite significant, particularly when we consider that the prize pool at PokerStars’ version of the event was $5,000 larger.

Party/Borgata games

Party/Borgata runs on partypoker’s proprietary software, which has a rather interesting feature. The casino button is located next to the poker button on the main navigation sidebar. This rather innocent design choice has a significant impact on the overall player experience. The number of cash game regulars is very low, but tournaments with large guarantees tend to attract plenty of seemingly random people. Needless to say, this means that the competition here is about as soft as on WSOP/888. If you switch to Party/Borgata after playing on PokerStars NJ for a while, you might be in for a very pleasant surprise.

Party/Borgata cash games

As mentioned above, Party/Borgata’s player pool has a rather unique structure. Many of the players you’ll meet on this network aren’t even poker enthusiasts to begin with. They’re casino aficionados, many of whom view poker as just another variety of Blackjack. Some of those players aren’t familiar with the rules of anything beyond Texas Hold’em, which means you are unlikely to find any meaningful action at the Omaha tables.

Hold’em

Despite the fact that available stakes range from $0.01/$0.02 to $25/$50, No-Limit Hold’em is played almost exclusively at 6-max micro- and low-stakes tables. Finding $1/$2 action shouldn’t be difficult during peak traffic hours, but if you ever decide to go higher, you’ll have to settle for the occasional $5/$10 heads-up play. The site also supports 9-max tables, but people tend to avoid them due to the limited size of the player pool – a vicious cycle of sorts.

Fixed-Limit Hold’em is also supported, with stakes ranging from $0.01/$0.02 to $30/$60, but the tables are almost constantly empty.

Omaha

Party/Borgata supports Pot-Limit Omaha in both Hi and Hi-Lo variants, but the number of active tables is very low, even during peak traffic hours. Stakes range from $0.01/$0.02 to $25/$50 and all tables are of the 6-max variety.

Stud

Fixed-Limit Seven-Card Stud is available in theory, with stakes ranging from $0.15/$0.30 to $5/$10. Unfortunately, finding an opponent seems downright impossible, even during peak hours.

Party/Borgata multi-table tournaments

Multi-table tournaments on Party/Borgata are a strange beast. The typical daily events with $5-$20 buy-ins and small prize pools tend to attract very few players, but the major events on Sunday and Tuesday often see more entries their PokerStars NJ counterparts.

Below, you will find short descriptions of Party/Borgata’s two flagship events:

Sunday $40k guaranteed

These run each Sunday at 5 p.m. If you’d like to compete for a slice of the $40,000 guaranteed prize pool, you can either go for a direct $200 buy-in, or battle your way in through the daily qualifiers with buy-ins ranging from $5 to $20.

Mega Tuesday

Mega Tuesday tournaments take off every Tuesday at 8 p.m. In order to get in on the action and compete for a share of at least $15,000, you’ll have to buy-in for $535, or win a seat through Party/Borgata’s daily qualifiers. Qualifier tickets go for as little as $5, meaning everyone can get a shot at claiming the main prize.

Other poker offerings on Party/Borgata

In addition to standard cash games and multi-table tournaments, Party/Borgata supports standard Sit & Go tournaments and fast-fold play. Unfortunately, both of these options are generally avoided by players. All in all, if you’re looking for some online single table tournament action in New Jersey, you should consider joining PokerStars or even WSOP/888 instead.

Sit & Go tournaments

Sit & Go tournaments are available for both No-Limit Hold’em and No-Limit Omaha, with buy-ins ranging from $1 to $500. The room’s software supports Standard and Turbo play for both heads-up and 6-max events, but the number of active STT players is so low that even low buy-in events may take hours to get started.

Fast-forward poker

The idea behind fast-forward poker is simple – as soon as you fold your hand, you get transferred to a new table, so that you can resume playing without having to wait for the hand to be played out.

Unfortunately, with less than 30 standard cash game tables running on the entire Party/Borgata network during peak traffic hours, there’s simply no way for this concept to work. As a consequence, there’s no action to be had at Party/Borgata’s fast-forward tables.

Party/Borgata rewards programs

All Party/Borgata sites have simple volume-based, tiered loyalty programs. The specifics may differ from one skin to another, but the basics remain the same. You earn points by playing poker to raise your loyalty level, then exchange those points on cash, tournament tickets, and comps.

Party Poker – best rakeback offer

On partypoker, you earn two points for every $1 paid in rake or tournament fees. The rewards program consists of four monthly tiers:

Points can also be exchanged for redeemable cashback bonuses and cashback comps. Unfortunately, none of these make up for the inherently low rakeback offered by this program.

playMGM

playMGM awards you 5.5 point for every $1 paid in rake or tournament fees. The site’s loyalty scheme consists of five tiers with annual credit requirements:

Sapphire – 0 points/year – maximum rakeback: 5%

Pearl – 25,000 points/year – maximum rakeback: 6%

Gold – 75,000 points/year – maximum rakeback: 7%

Platinum – 200,000 points/year – maximum rakeback: 8%

Noir – invitation only – maximum rakeback: 15%

playMGM Points can also be exchanged for Borgata comps, as well as accessories and electronics, such as tablets or cameras.

All things considered, if you’d like to focus exclusively on online poker and you don’t really care about receiving the VIP treatment at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, you should definitely stick to partypoker. However, if comps and live poker are your forte, registering an account with playMGM is a must.

Party/Borgata deposit/withdrawal options

Each of the three sites on the Party/Borgata network handles its cash-outs and withdrawals separately.

Deposits

The complete list of payment methods supported by Party/Borgata skins is as follows:

Instant e-check/VIP Preferred (partypoker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Borgata cashier (partypoker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Bank transfer (partypoker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Borgata prepaid card (Borgata only)

partypoker prepaid card (partypoker only)

PayNearMe (partypoker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Visa/MasterCard (partypoker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Skrill (partypoker, Borgata)

Neteller (partypoker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

We do not recommend relying on Visa/MasterCard payments for online gambling purposes, because about 30 percent of all poker-related transactions get blocked by overzealous US financial institutions. On the flip side,Skrill and Neteller e-wallet payments are effortless, reliable, and extremely fast – we highly recommend them above anything else.

Bank transfers are good for when you do not own an e-wallet, though keep in mind that not all banks are supported. E-checks are also a great and reliable alternative, and is generally recommended for all large payments.

And for players wishing to make a live cash deposit, head to Borgata’s land-based casino or to a New Jersey 7-Eleven store and fund your account at the cashier’s. You will be asked to present a valid government-issued ID. Note that 7-Eleven payments are capped at $500 per transaction and require that you generate and print a payment slip prior to your arrival at the store.

Withdrawals

Party/Borgata skins support the following withdrawal methods:

Instant e-check/VIP Preferred (Party Poker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Neteller (Party Poker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Check by mail (Party Poker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Borgata cashier (Party Poker, Borgata, PlayMGM)

Skrill (Party Poker, Borgata)

Borgata prepaid card (Borgata)

partypoker prepaid card (Party Poker)

Please note that regardless of the site you pick, your cash-outs might take some time to process due to security checks. In most cases, this shouldn’t be longer than 48 hours.

Party/Borgata support

If you have questions regarding Party/Borgata or you’re experiencing technical difficulties, you can contact the customer support team of for your poker skin. Here’s how you can reach them:

partypoker

Borgata

playMGM

All three Party/Borgata sites also feature extensive and well-organized FAQ sections, which do a fairly decent job when it comes to explaining how to use their poker software. However, we feel that the rules of their loyalty programs should’ve been laid out in a more clear and concise manner. As it stands right now, you’re be better off consulting our detailed breakdowns above instead. This is especially true when it comes to Borgata and PlayMGM.

Party/Borgata promotions

Party/Borgata skins position themselves as very recreational-player-friendly poker sites, so it should come as no surprise that they’re pretty big on recurring promotions.

From Weekly Reloads and additional cashback during the Sunday Saver on partypoker, from Gladiator Freerolls to Monthly Leadearboards with prizes on playMGM, and from The Grind rewards and Tournament Leadearboard on Borgata, each site will tempt you with exciting opportunities and a chance to compete.

While there’s no denying that this kind of approach are attractive to recreational players, we’d like to point out that the price paid for them is, in some cases, considerably lower rakeback, and poor first deposit bonuses.

Conclusion

The bottom line is simple: if you prefer MTTs over cash games and you’re looking for soft competition, Party/Borgata is almost guaranteed to deliver. If you don’t mind facing tougher opponents and you really care about your cash game experience, go for PokerStars instead.

In our opinion, picking the right skin is more problematic than deciding whether to join the network or not. Both playMGM and partypoker have their pros and cons. Generally speaking, if you’re planning to keep playing once you clear your bonus, you should join partypoker for their rakeback program. Otherwise, you’ll probably want to go with playMGM.

In the end, we see no reason why you wouldn’t want to take advantage of all the welcome packages offered by all three providers.